A new face, a new expiriment

[Spotty]

Owlglide

His shoulders slowly heaved and deflated again as the brown tom took a troubled breath. For whatever reason, Owlglide had woken up yesterday feeling oddly tired. He hadn't had any duties that day and had therefore chosen to take a day of rest, assuming it was just built-up stress weighing on him the past moons. But he was just as, if not more tired today. Something was wrong. But he wasn't sick. No, no, he was fine, just unusually tired.

He shook his head a little, then more, and then shook out his brown pelt and heaved himself up. He just needed to go on a walk for a bit, clear his head a little and all. He had taken multiple walks around the territory before when something was weighing on his mind, and it always seemed to help. So, though it took a whole lot more effort than usually, the warrior stalked outside, heading for the same route as always.

He kept on walking. And walking. And walking. Almost without thinking, he just padded forward - shoulders hunched, head lowered, eyes tired and with an unseeing gaze in them. He looked like a zombie almost, not thinking, just walking forward. Then the tiredness started to tear on him more and more, and his legs began to shake, after that it was as if his whole body crumbled, fell apart, giving up. The brown tom collapsed on the ground, eyes closing as a cough he had been forcing down made its way out. His eyes closed. Sounds were around him but he didn't hear them. There was the smell of the grass right at his muzzle yet he didn't smell it.

[Spotty]

Jay
@marina
[The herbs gathered are burnet]

 

it's a pretty regular cough, not whitecough or greencough, just a normal sickness, and usually, it wouldn't be too bad, but he has been over-worked and mentally burnt out for quite a while, even starving himself when prey was low, and he didnt rest properly after getting sick.

Hmm. This was new.

The slender cat had been searching a different area for plants this time, scavenging around to see if there was anything note-worthy here. And lo-and-behold, there was a new plant here. The leaves were small and green like usual but with sharp, jagged edges. Interesting. Long stems shot out and ended in small bulbs of dark red, even they oddly jagged. Jay leaned down to taste one of the leaves, but after a bit more consideration, he hesitated before raising his head again. Maybe he wouldn't eat them before having someone else test it out.

Yup, that was a better plan. He nodded to himself and picked a few of the plans; two stems that ended in the red bulbs and three leaf-covered steams. A new plant to check out. That seemed like a good outcome for a little one-cat exploration trip, and Jay was about to head back to Kirei with his findings when a different scent pushed itself through the smell of plants around him. It was the smell of another cat, and he could feel the fur on his back prickle.

That was less good. Jay was a small, scrawny, the opposite of muscular, and a juvenile, meaning he wouldn't be able to take on barely any cat older than a kit. Usually, it was between fight and flight, but for Jay in particular, fight wasn't an option. So flight it was, and the blue and cream cat quickly glanced around and found a tree he could hide up in, but he caught a glimpse of a cat leaving the smell and... they seemed to be very much very dead. No, wait, not dead, they were breathing.

He should go back to Kirei. She would be mad at him if she heard that he had messed around like this. Then again... curiosity was a powerful force... He clicked his tongue for himself before making up his mind and carefully sneaking his way over to study the cat closer. Even, brown and rather smooth fur, but it was lighter around the tail tip and belly. Speaking of the tail, it was unusually long.

Jay shook his head and refocused on the actual cat instead of studying their fur. He put his paw to the mouth and nose, double-checking that the cat was breathing before starting to inspect the other aspects of them. No visible injuries that he could see, no wounds or bruises. He began to roll the body over to check it further when the cat gave off a cough, something that caused Jay to spring back a little before gathering himself again. Ok, it seemed to be internal sickness.

He licked his lips. He thought about it. He made up his mind. And he started to drag the body away towards his home.




It was quite a hassle to get the body back to their den, seeing as they were all grown up and Jay was still very very young and tiny, but after the usual blood, sweat, and tears of his work, he had managed to drag it to Kirei, along with the new plant he had picked before then. His pale evening gaze searched for the molly. Another click of his tongue to alert her as he signaled toward the body.

"Found it towards the open lands, it's coughing and seems passed out. We could test a few things and see if he gets better." Right, and the plants. He ushered the two flower stems and three leaf stems towards her. "They grew that way in the sunlight, I didnt tase them yet. I call em Red Spikebulbs." It was a good name in his mind. The bulbs were red and oddly spiky.

[Spotty]

Jay
[Contining from this]

The scrawny tom had moved from the home Kirei had created back to the old den he had lived in before she adopted him. Now she was gone, so he didn't see a reason to stay there. Because every time he stepped into the den he was reminded of her. How she used to stand there, or move around, doing things. He preferred the once-again family den he had made himself, where her scent didn't cloud his thoughts, or where the pain of her no longer being there could crip him in the same way as before. Though it had been a bit of a hassle to get to get the sick cat down here, in the out-dug den of his, but it was a lot safer here.

Speaking of his patient; he didn't seem to have gotten better at all. Despite being allowed to rest and being fed whatever Jay had caught and not eaten, the older cat's body didn't seem able to recover properly. So after more than a week had passed without improvement, Jay had chosen to resort to this. He went into the storage den to leave one of the Red Spikebulb stems there, along with the other plant that he had named White Flyflwoer, for the small, white flowers that almost looked like white flies gathered on the end of the plant. But he took one of the Red Spikebulbs with him back to the sleeping den and placed it down in front of the sick cat.

How are you doing?

He quickly checked over the other cat, making sure no small bugs had managed to bother them, but also that they were still breathing and still responded to him, and wasn't like... dead. Nothing out of the usual, so Jay took the plant, separating the stem, and handing over the red, spiky flower. "Eat." He commanded, but in a calm voice. Jay had no way of knowing the cat wouldn't die from eating this, but he hoped it would heal the cat somewhat. Either way, he would be sure to check on the cat often to see if any improvement was made.

Being able to heal cats. It was the same goal Kirei had had before she disappeared, and Jay had promised himself he would carry on that goal in her memory. Being able to make sure other cats wouldn't also die was a great bonus, of course.


Owlglide

The former warrior looked up as the odd little cat came back. Why they had chosen to help him after seemingly just finding him where he had passed out a bit away from Windclan's territory? Owlglide had no idea, and also didn't understand why they just barely talking. But he supposed he was grateful since the little cat also for some reason gave him food since he was too weak to even get up without seeing stars. But Owlglide was a fair cat, and he had promised himself he would make it up to them.

The younger cat checked him over like usual but also gave him something to eat. Owlglide blinked at them, confused as to why he had to eat a plant. He didn't really recognize it, but maybe this cat knew something about herbs and healing?? Owlglide couldn't really confirm with them, since they didn't really talk, but after a moment of hesitation and leaned forward a little and took it in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. It must be the sickness working again because he couldn't really taste much of it, but nodded a thanks to the other cat.


----


Jay

Evening blue eyes watched the older cat as they slowly but surely managed to stand up. That was a great improvement, actually, even if the cat was still very clearly sick. A whole day had passed since the brown cat ate the end of the Red Spikebulb, and after a few hours, Jay had fed the rest of the plant as well. But he was happy about this development since he hoped it had been the plant that had helped them regain strength a little. Because if it was, it meant Jay could feed another one of the Red Spikebulbs if the cat's energy and health took a dip back again. If it wasn't the Red Spikebulb that caused this, it meant the cat was simply getting better.

A win either way, right? But Jay desperately wanted it to be the plant that had helped the cat get on their paws. The other cat getting better would be good of course, but if it was because of the Red Spikebulb it meant Jay had discovered at least one plant that could do something, so he would choose to belive that.

[Spotty]

Jay

Day 20.

It was the twentieth day without Kirei, and there was an odd pain clawing in Jay's chest when he thought about that. He had begun to keep track of time in a different way; placing a small pebble beside his nest each day as he went to sleep, every now and then replacing five of them with one bigger stone. There were four bigger stones in front of him now, and he realized he had been expecting his adoptive mother to return before he got to three. But four stones, 20 days and she was still gone.

The young cat closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, mustering up the courage and energy it took to get up and go check in on his patient. While the older cat had seemed to regain some strength after Jay had fed him the Red Spikebulb, they still weren't healing as they should, and after five more days, Jay had begun to consider trying another plant. The White Flyflower he had found, perhaps? But he was hesitant to test anything more. The first experiment had been a success, sure, but he didn't want that to blind him to the risks of this. That wasn't how a real doctor would do it.

And perhaps he was growing a little fond of the older cat and did not wish to put their life in jeopardy again. But would they have better chances at surviving by eating a plant that could possibly either cure or kill them, than by just fighting the sickness all on their own? What were the odds of Jay picking a plant that would take their life versus the odds of the sickness taking them first? And which option - action, or the lack there off - would place the blame for the cat's death on Jay's contions? Either he gave the cat a plant, crossing his whiskers in the hope it would be the right one, or he would do nothing like it, simply feeding them and letting the rest, and then, if they died, he would have just stood by, almost passive.

Was it better to take a risk and try to save a cat, knowing it could also cause a preventable death, or simply wait and see if the cat's body would manage to fight the sickness all on its own? Jay shook his head, trying in the same motion to shake away the thoughts. As much as some moral questions could intrigue him, they were also confusing, and while he had sometimes in order to challenge himself wondered what one ought to do in similar situations, it was so much harder to be the cat actually making the choice.


As he sat there, looking at the stones, missing his lost mother, and wondering if he would risk losing another cat, and heavy cough sounded from the other room. It was a bad one, and undoubtedly the worst one so far. It was no longer just air being pushed out, it rather sounded as if the cough was clawing at the tom's throat as if made its way out, and it sent a shiver down Jay's back. He could just too well imagine the pain they must be feeling with that.

The cat got up at looked toward the two plants he had left; the White Flyflower and the Red Spikeblub he had yet to use. He knew nothing of the former, but the other one had been used and his hypothesis was that it was what had helped the older cat, for a few days, regain some strength. Using it again might help a little, but it wouldn't cure the cat. So, unless he wanted to right now go looking for more plants he was left with the White Flyflower. He swiftly but with clear hesitance picked up the plant and went into the other part of the den where his patient was resting.



Owlglide

This day had for far been especially bad for the former warrior, as he had woken up more tired than ever, and now bad and painful coughs had shaken his body. But he still lifted his head and mustered a smile as the smaller cat came in, seemingly having heard the coughing, and carrying some plant. Another herb for him? Well, this cat must actually know what they were doing. Owlglide recalled feeling slightly better the day after the previous herb, so it could very well be this young little fella knew a thing or two about herbs. Owlglide himself had no real knowledge of them, but maybe after he was back on his paws again, he could show around the other cat and show where some other plants might grow and they could discuss things.

But Owlglide places faith in this cat, since he couldn't find any reason not to after all the kindness the stranger had shown him, and so when a part of the herb was offered to him, he leaned forward and took them in his mouth to chew. They had more flavor, even if it was a somewhat bitter one, but when he swallowed them he didn't feel any better, on the contrary, actually. It felt like something was moving in his belly, and only a few moments after swallowing the sour leave, he had to take a few steps back as the remains of his dinner push their way up, and he threw up the contents of his stomach onto the dry, soil floor.

For a few heartbeats, he stood still, half-panting as he regained his breath, but then he looked at the vomit, and from that to the puddle to the yuong cat. Was that nesscairy? Had he eaten something bad that they wanted him to puke up. ... Or did this cat actually have no idea what the herbs would do, and the first try had just been dumb luck?


Jay

He was always a bit surprised by the older cat's open friendliness and willingness to trust him both when it came to food and herbs, but that smile disappeared from the other cat's face, and Jay had to take a step back when the cat... vomited? He hadn't expected the plant to take effect so quickly, but also not that kind of effect.

But more painful than the failure was the confused, almost betrayed look the older cat gave him. A part of Jay felt the need to apologize or explain why he had wanted them to eat the herb, but like before no words were for that, and all Jay could do was hum quietly, as if he was having a discussion with himself as he went to fetch something to clean this up with so the other cat could go back to resting.

[Spotty]

Jay

A little walk in the meadows had become another little exploration trip as Jay stumbled upon a new little piece of land. It was everything but uncommon for him to accidentally or intentionally find new places, as before Kirei had disappeared, he had hardly been outside. Expect a few hunting practices and that time he had found that cat, he had barely put a pew outside. But now when all the hunting and plant-collecting had fallen on his shoulders he had frequented many places around his den, and it hadn't been long before curiosity about the world pulled him further and further from the den with each trip.

This time his path had crossed a calm field, where a few plants still clung on despite the weather becoming colder each night. He had already recognized a cluster of White Flyflowers at the edge of the flat land, and while walking had also spotted a Red Spikebulb. He had so far ignored them since he wasn't currently all that interested in them, but now he stopped dead in his tracks, only just avoiding stepping on the blood-colored plant before him. For a moment he stood still, inspecting the rounded, light petals, thin, leafless stem, and almost cup-like shape the petals formed. He also bent down to give it a sniff but was surprised by the lack of scent coming from the flower. That was unusual from what he knew, as most, if not all flowers he had come across had had a quite strong scent. This one was scentless as if it had been laid in water so long all the smell had disappeared.

With his curiosity now perked, he picked with him a flower and took it with him as he continued wandering a bit. As he approached a more shaded area, where a certain plant emmidietly caught his eye. It was an interesting shade of green, with nettles just like a pine or spruce tree would have, even if these ones seemed more... full. But what Jay was most focused on were the gleaming red berries. Ooooh... Something about them drew him in, and the scrawny cat took a few steps towards them and temporarily placed down the flower in order to close his jaws around a piece of the green plant and twist it off, getting about three berries in the process before he took all of his things and headed home.



As soon as he set paws in the familiar den he headed for the storage room to sort what he had gathered. He allowed the red flower to fall to the floor as he placed down the tiny branch-looking thing by the wall and separated the berries into a separate pile beside it, before turning back to the flower. He had intended to just place it by the wall as well, but as he bent down to pick it up again, he saw that a few small, grey seeds had fallen out of the flower as he let it fall. They too were scentless, but Jay made sure to shake out a good handful more into a little pile before placing the flower down beside them as well.

He... he had been very hesitant to give his patient more herbs after the failure that had been the last experiment, but he could feel the curiosity pulling at his paws as if someone had attached strings to them and was now tugging at each one to make him move. At it was working. It was working scarily well. Besides, that cat would maybe never get better if Jay didn't do something, and what he had thought of as a failure might actually be a blessing in disguise. Because if something he fed the cat something that turned out to be bad, he could always try and give them the rest of the White Flyflower and make them vomit it up again.

Making up his mind, Jay got up and took with him a pawful of the seeds that had fallen out of the flower before heading for his paitent once more.


Owlglide

He honestly hadn't been feeling great these past days, and that odd plant that had caused him to throw up the other day hadn't helped him get any better, and he in fact felt a whole lot worse. But the strange little cat trotted in again, he lifted his head somewhat and looked up at them. A few dry seeds were placed on the ground in front of him, but unlike before, Owlglide didn't move to eat them as obediently and willingly as before. Instead, his green gaze rested on them for a few moments, before slowly moving to meet the younger cat's eyes. They seemed uncomfortable with the eye contact, but Owlglide couldn't decide if it was some kind of guilt or just another unusualness of theirs. A few moments of silence, before he spoke. "Could you give me your name?" It was a simple question, but one Owlglide hadn't gotten an answer to despite knowing this cat for almost a whole moon now. "I am Owlglide." He mewed, hopefully making replying a little bit easier for the other cat.

There was a hesitation there, but eventually, the answer came. "Jay." Owlglide nodded. "That's a pretty name, and it seems to suit you. Now, Jay, wouldn't you mind answering another question of mine; ... how much do you actually know about these herbs you're feeding me?"


Jay

Saying his name had already been a little uncomfortable, but something seemed to freeze as the older cat asked the other question. And moments passed but Jay could not find an answer to correctly communicate his idea to the patient. Because no, he didn't actually know anything about the plants - or herbs, as many cats also seemed to call them (oddly enough, it wasn't the first time someone mentioned that word to him) - but he was learning through these tests, and he had already learned things that could be used in the case of another test going wrong.

"I..." His mouth was oddly dry, and as he tried to muster the words as well as the courage to say them, he found himself not wanting the older cat to feel as if they were being used as a test subject, no matter how true that might be. "I'm learning. Learning to heal cats." Through you, by using you. Not that he would say that. "It has gone well enough so far, and now I have the means to make you vomit if something goes badly." He said the last part straightening up slightly, and smiling, almost proudly.

The silence dragged on for what felt like an eternity, and his pride in his achievements faded as he did his best to continue the eyecontect - something that seemed to become more and more unpleasant and unnatural feeling with every second that passed. But finally, Jay got a little nod from the older cat, and they leaned forward to take the little seeds in their mouth, seemingly barely needing to chew at all since they were to small.

[Spotty]

Jay

With unusually light steps the scrawny cat trotted toward the den his patient rested in, in his jaws carrying the little branch-like part and berries he had found the other day. It turned out his last test had been at least a small success. Owlglide had almost passed out a few minutes after eating the seeds, and at first, Jay had been afraid they had been poisonous, but after quickly fetching the White Flyflower and hurrying back with it, he found the older cat still breathing, just in a very deep sleep. So that was new information, and Jay strongly suspected the seeds had caused that little slumber since it couldn't really have been anything else. For their effect, Jay had given the seeds and flower the name Resting Rose. It was fitting, even if he didn't know if the flower and its petals could have similar effects as the seeds, but he wasn't testing out that quite yet, and would instead try the other plant.

With curiosity pricking in his fur, Jay walked into the patient's den, and placed down the plant part, first offering up the little pit of the berry for the cat to chew, and once that was swallowed, the rest of the berry. Then he sat back, eagerly awaiting the results. If nothing seemed to happen within a day or so, he would even give Owlglide of the nettles and see if something happened.

A few moments passed, but Jay didn't move. He hadn't expected results immediately and didn't mind waiting, but it didn't take long before Owlglide began to look a little... tried. Ok, no big deal, maybe the effect was similar to the Resting Rose's seeds. But then they seemed to get some trouble breathing, and their breaths became heavier. Then the last sigh; foam forming at the mouth. Yeah, that wasn't good!

Jay felt a bolt of anxiety shoot through him as he jumped back onto his paws. Things like that weren't what a healthy cat did, and like before the young cat rushed over to the other den and fetched the White Flyflower. But as he got back and shoved the plant towards Owlglide, the older tom didn't seem at all able to even move to eat. As Jay watched them struggle to even breathe and move, panic started to pulse through their body even more. "Come on, you have to eat it!" He tried to nudge the plant towards them again, but there wasn't a reaction. "You have to! I don't know what will happen to your otherwise!" Somewhere inside him, he felt Owlglide could still hear him, but their body didn't seem at all able to respond or react. "please" His last mew was bearly more than a crying whimper, but Owlglide's shaking body had not strength left to do as he had been asked.

In a last, desperate effort to save the cat, Jay grabbed the plant himself, forced open Owlglide's jaws using his forepaws, and pressed in a part of the White Flyflower. He tried to make the older cat swallow, doing everything they could think of from pressing on their throat to making their jaws chew for them. But nothing seemed to work.

With tears glittering in his eyes as dampening the fur on his cheeks, he took a trembling step back and just stared blankly at Owlglide. No. No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. He had made sure he had a plant at hand that could help if something like this happened. He had had the Red Spikebulb to grant strength, the White Fly Flower to get out anything bad from a cat's stomach, and now even the Resting Rose's seeds to induce sleep. Why can't anything work when I most needed it to?

His paws gave up under him, and he sunk down beside the older cat, burying his face in the smooth brown fur, just whispering a low "Im sorry, Im sorry, Im so sorry..." Because it was his fault. Everything was his fault. His sister and mother were happy that he left, Kirei had most likely found a better life without him, and now Owlglide would die.

...

A slight movement. Jay barely registered it. Wouldn't have dared to hope if he did. But then it came again and with odd coughing and gurgling sound, the contents of Owlglide's stomach were released onto the floor. Jay stumbled up and took a step back again, blinking once and then twice. His evening-colored eyes shifted to the little puddle on the floor, searching and finally finding the red flesh of the berry and soon the dark pit right beside it. It had worked.

Relief flowed through him like a warm wave and he wanted to press his muzzle towards Owlglide and just thank them, apploligice, all that, but the older cat still wasn't fine. They were better, not fine. Red Spikeblub. That might work, it had given Owlglide strength the last time, so maybe it would do the same now? Jay hoped it would. And this time Owlglilde managed to consume the plant on his own, probably remembering the effects it had had prior.



Jay spent the following hours by Owlglide's side, not daring to leave it for more than fetching some water he managed to transport using a little bit of moss. But while Owlglide was better, Jay knew somewhere deep inside him this was more than he could handle. Being in charge of a cat's life like that had been one of the most terrifying experiences of his life. And he also feared Owlglide had been poisoned too badly to make a full recovery using the three plants Jay actually knew anything about.

No, this was too big of a thing for him to handle on his own. He would have to hand over Owlglide to the humans. Yes, Jay had a deep hatred for those beings, but he wasn't stupid, he knew that they had much greater healing powers than him. It would be for the best.